2001 GMC Jimmy 4.3 4x4

I was driving around a couple nights ago, when all of the sudden (sounds like a the beginning of a bad ghost story) my electrical dash gauges quit. Specifically, the speed, rpm, fuel, and voltage gauges stopped. Temp and oil pressure continued working. The "red battery" light in the dash lit up (I'm assuming because the voltage gauge was at zero)

Jimmy continued to run just fine. Lights working normally. Radio still on. HVAC going without problems. Within 3 minutes, everything came back to normal, and I had no further issues that night. If it's worth anything, it was -2 out at the time.

I've developed a drain on my battery sometime in the last 3 weeks. After 36-48 hours, the batter has lost the power to start the engine, but the lights are still on, so it's not completely dead. Generally, engine starts up normally, alternator gauge shows 14+ volts, and life is good.

Fast forward to this morning.

Jimmy starts up after sitting for 24 hours or so. Battery was obviously weak, but it was strong enough to turn the engine over a few times and get it going. Dash gauges are again out and red battery light is on. Despite the fuel gauge showing zero, the information cluster on the ceiling by the dome lights still shows a range of 160 miles. Jimmy idles normally for a few minutes until I turn it off, take the battery inside to charge it up, and spray down the terminals with electronics cleaner. I took a look at the fuses on the drivers side of the dash, and they were all fine.

Any ideas or suggestions on what might be causing this strange electrical problem? I've got a suspicion that a ground wire is loose or something has corroded/been chewed through. While I'm not a complete idiot, I'm not familiar enough with the Jimmy to know where to start looking. Any advice you have on the subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Have the battery tested then check the condition of the connections on the battery, starter, and alternator. Just follow the wires.

 

Cleaned the crap out of the battery terminals, which I thought were okay to begin with. Got at the alternator terminals too. Squirted a couple grounds that I can't get to without dislocating at least one of my shoulders and scrubbed them with a long brush. Battery is charged and the gauges are back on. I'll get that battery tested tonight and some new terminals/bolts. Thanks a bunch for the fast reply riddle.

Electricity is magic.